The go-to gadget of the Osborne family

So at the beginning of the last school year, my oldest was required to get an iPad to negotiate her class curriculum. We were required to pay for it. She was 10. This, obviously, is a post in and of itself. And, in fact, I’ve written one about it for TLC a while back.

In it, I ultimately concluded that since it’s a private school, they can do what they want. If we didn’t like it, we didn’t have to continue to send her there. But we love the school, and there’s quite a case to be made for what a wonderful teaching instrument the iPad is, so all in all, it (obviously) wasn’t a hill for us to die on. Even so, I had reservations. I felt she was too young.

I’m not sure I’ve come off that stance entirely. In my opinion, ten is awfully young to have an iPad. But I will say this. I sure have been pleased with how the school is having her use it. My oldest truly does the majority of her classwork on it and it’s a very high-tech, clean, interactive and efficient way to learn. All in all, I have rave reviews.

Well, except for one thing. See, now that Alli has an iPad guess who else wants one? The triplets. So guess what Caroline got them for Christmas last year?

NO. Are you kidding me? Buying three iPads for three (then) four-year-olds? Gimme a break.

John Cave Osborne is a writer whose work has appeared on such sites as DisneyBaby, Babble, YahooShine, TLC and the Huffington Post. He was also referenced by Jezebel one time, but he’s pretty sure they were making fun of him. He and his wife, Caroline, live with their five children and spastic dog in Knoxville, TN. Nothing annoys him more than joke-heavy bios written in the third person, with the possible exception of Corey Feldman.